Budget infighting within Germany's governing coalition is jeopardizing its plan to meet defense commitments to Western allies even as tensions with Russia rise and a NATO-skeptic Donald Trump bids for a second term as U.S. president.
Since the 1990s Germany has thrown off its post-World War II aversion to military action. But it has faced criticism — not least from Trump in his first term — for repeatedly missing a NATO target of spending 2% of its economic output on defense.
Days after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz surprised allies by announcing a "zeitenwende" — German for a historic turning point — with a €100 billion ($107 billion) special fund to bring the military back up to speed.